Happy OS-specific birthday to us! Today is the anniversary of Minecraft’s arrival on Windows 10. It’s been a busy year: 12,000 code check-ins, 6000 bugs squashed, 15 major updates and oodles of new features.

We’ve bred bunnies of many colours, given squid a fear of mortality and set baby zombies astride squawking avian steeds. We unleashed the power of Redstone and found new ways for players to devise elaborate devices. We introduced our cross-platform Realms service, so players could own always-online worlds just for them and their friends, and play on them with minecrafters on mobile devices. We crafted special skinpacks - like the Villains pack we are releasing today! - and texture packs, too, allowing for even greater levels of customisation.

MINECON couldn’t happen without Agents: a super-special crew of awesome volunteers who dedicate ten hours of their weekend to helping the conference run smoothly. This year’s MINECON is bigger than ever, so we’re looking for even more fine folk to give us a hand. Sound like something you’re interested in? Over 18? Then apply right here! If accepted, you won’t need to pay for a ticket.

You’ll need to apply by July 10, and you’ll hear back from us by email by July 18. You do have to put a deposit down of $60 which we’ll refund after you’ve successfully volunteered at MINECON. You only have to work one full day - outside of that you are free to enjoy MINECON as you please.

You might have heard this already, but Minecraft is a pretty cool, fun, popular game. We could have just stopped there and felt reasonably proud of ourselves. But we at Mojang also passionately believe that Minecraft is a Good Thing - not just an inspiring, delightful, mind-expanding pastime, but something that brings real, positive change to people’s lives the world over. That’s why we encourage Minecraft’s use as an educational tool and it’s also why we set up Block by Block - a partnership with UN-Habitat which uses Minecraft as a way of engaging communities in the development of public space, allowing locals to take control of their environment.

Public spaces are super important. They’re the backbone of any community and a vital measure of its health. They’re a key part of urban infrastructure - water, energy and communication - and well-planned public space promotes civic identity, socialisation and security. But in places of poverty, conflict or rapid urbanisation, these essential spaces often fall by the wayside, important amenities are overlooked and locals are disenfranchised.

UN-Habitat and Mojang are committed to reversing this where we can - and Minecraft has proved an invaluable way of communicating proposals to develop the environment, engaging locals in these challenges and taking their feedback to city planners. Nobody knows what a community needs better than those who live in it, and with Minecraft they’re given an easy and rapid way to express their ideas.

So far, Block by Block has initiated projects in 18 locations across 13 different countries, with many more underway in 2016. Have a look at our newly re-launched website to see the work we’ve done in places like Nairobi, Mumbai, Kosovo and Mexico City.

You might not have spotted this, but we’ve been updating the store over on minecraft.net, adding loads of hot, hot merch that you can buy from our partner, Jinx.

We’ve got the latest Lego Minecraft kits up there now, so you can recreate the terror of the wither, construct tree-top safe-havens and snow-bound strongholds. Then there are Mattel’s snazzy new range of action figures - skeletons with firing bows and sheep you can sheer. And that’s not to mention the updated editions of our handbooks, coveted collectible mini figures, huggably soft plushies and loads of super duper tees.

With E3 out the way, it’s the perfect time to put the kettle on and kick back with one of those papery, real-world thingamies that we enjoyed in the days before the internet shattered our attention spans. What were they called? Boofs? Boops?

Of course, we here at Mojang are learned folk who love few things more than reading a good boop, er, book. And what better book could you read than this? - our newly launched, high-quality tome: The Survivors’ Book of Secrets.

Somewhere out there, on a hot stage in LA, Lydia has just announced the release of The Friendly Update, aka 0.15, for Pocket and Windows 10 Edition. And not just that! We can now reveal that The Friendly Update’s hitherto mysteriously unspecified friendliness is a result of two major features: Realms and cross-device multiplayer!

Realms are servers, run by us, just for you and your friends. Now, you can keep your Pocket / Win 10 Edition Minecraft world online and always accessible, even when you log-off. It’s safe, too! Only people you invite can join your world, and what you do there is up to you: create, survive or compete.

Not convinced? Then try out the month-long free trial! Read all about how to get your hands on Realms on our shiny new site.

It’s Crown and Council, a fast-paced strategy game about conquering land and obliterating rival monarchs. Click adjacent land tiles to subdue them with your army, earning gold to fund further expeditions, defensive forts, naval attacks, universities and more. Muscle your opposition off the map! There can be only one ruler in these lands!

It’s that time of year again, time to mark off your calendars and start making plans. MINECON is coming! That means thousands of you will come together for fun (and this time even some sun) and to celebrate the Minecraft community.

As usual, we will have a weekend event and as usual, we will be live streaming the entire time, so even if you can’t come in person, you can still enjoy the Minecrafty goodness from the lovely comfort of home.

Details will be coming soon right here on the blog including pricing, ticket sales dates, and more!

When you play Minecraft, you never know what you’re going to find when you break past those next few blocks, and that feeling of anticipation can be quite exciting, yes?

Well, we wanted to bring that same sense of discovery and creativity, but with cool monthly shipments of Minecraft gear, exclusive items, and neat DIY crafting recipes! Introducing the new and improved, Mine Chest! Now you can subscribe for a monthly box of Minecraft goodness, even some items that you can’t mine anywhere else.